In pursuit of alignment, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) proposes significant reductions in degree requirements.
As FAS prepares for another round of Faculty Board meetings on Nov. 22, Jenn Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic), has introduced a new motion that’s been in development for the past year and a half regarding significant changes to its degree requirements.
The proposed modifications will affect the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) or BAH, Bachelor of Computing (Honours) or BCmp, Bachelor of Science (Honours) or BScH, and Bachelor of Music (BMus) programs by transitioning them to a modular degree plan structure. The report emphasizes the need for these changes, allowing academic units to modify their degree plans by establishing minimum requirements while not imposing restrictions on others.
According to the report, a typical major in FAS requires 60.0 units in BAH plans and 72.0 units in BScH plans, out of a total of 120.0 units. Both Arts and Science minors require 30.0 units. Specializations range from 84.0 to 105.0 units. But, under the proposed framework, majors will require a minimum of 48.0 units for BAH and 60.0 units for BCmp and BScH, also with an additional 12.0 units of ing courses. Both Arts and Science minors will require a minimum of 24.0 units.
In a letter to The Journal, Paul Grogan, professor of terrestrial ecosystem in the Department of Biology expressed his perspective on the Modularization Initiative. In a subsequent interview with The Journal, he says one of the arguments used in favour of implementing these changes is that the University is “out-of-sync” with all the other U6 comparator research-intensive universities in Ontario, and this rationale was also presented in the report to the Faculty Board. The U6 group of research universities are the University of Toronto, Western University, McMaster University, University of Ottawa, and University of Waterloo. Nine other Canadian universities are on this list, making it the U15.
While Queen’s tries to emulate other universities, some professors believe there’s no harm in being different.
“I don’t necessarily agree with that [reducing the number of programs to be in sync with other universities]. Why shouldn’t Queen’s be distinctive and have a unique feature? Why should we just match? Certainly, we have been presented with a lot of evidence to show that we’re out of sync with the others, but why would it be better for us to match other universities is not clear to me,” Grogan said in an interview with The Journal.
While contemplating ways for the University to move forward, Grogan acknowledges he doesn’t have all the answers. He believes pragmatism alone is not the solution—the University also needs a vision to accompany it, as relying solely on pragmatism could be a dangerous way to address problems.
“I realize we have to be pragmatic, but pragmatism on its own without some vision and ideal is a dangerous thing, I would argue, and likewise vision alone or ideal with no pragmatism is not a very clever management strategy either. You need both together,” Grogan said.
As the Board familiarize themselves with the information and prepare to make a decision, Grogan hopes for a comprehensive discussion on how to safeguard and uphold the values associated with small courses. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining small class sizes to ensure students have an invaluable experience in their degree programs.
“I gather that in response to a question at a recent undergraduate Departmental Student Council (DSC) meeting, Stephenson indicated that she expected 5 per cent of courses would be lost due to the Modularization initiative,” Grogan said. “This might seem quite small as an average if it were evenly applied across all course sizes and all program years, but in reality, I suspect the losses will be primarily of our small third and fourth year courses.”
The proposal ranges across both Arts and Science programs, but departments aren’t required to implement these proposals. Nevertheless, they have been strongly encouraged, and as far as Grogan knows, all intend to comply.
The Journal reached out to the University for comment on how it’s ensuring the academic integrity of its degrees but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
Corrections
A prior version of this article implied Professor Paul Grogan was present at the DSC meeting, which he wasn’t.
The Journal regrets the error
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